Award-Winning British writer Nikesh Shukla to lecture on “The Good Immigrant: Writing, Activism and the Importance of Representation”

By Julie ClineJanuary 9, 2017

“In a global environment in which the world is preoccupied with immigrants, national sovereignty, identity politics and the economic and political forces that give rise to refugees seeking new homelands, Shukla’s work could not be more timely.”

Award-winning British writer Nikesh Shukla will lecture on “The Good Immigrant: Writing, Activism and the Importance of Representation” at Washington and Lee University on Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. in the Hillel House Multipurpose Room. The talk is free and open to the public.

This event will kick off the winter 2017 schedule of speakers of the 2016-18 Center for International Education Colloquium on Borders and Their Human Impact, with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Shukla, who has long championed diversity in publishing and literary life, is the editor of “The Good Immigrant,”a 21-essay collection by emerging British black, Asian and minority ethnic, writers and artists.

“In a global environment in which the world is preoccupied with immigrants, national sovereignty, identity politics and the economic and political forces that give rise to refugees seeking new homelands, Shukla’s work could not be more timely,” said Mark Rush, Waxburg Professor of Politics and director of International Education. “Shukla discusses these topics from the perspective of the UK. His work strikes at the heart of matters concerning identity, ethnicity and citizenship.

“What makes someone British or American? Is it where you were born? To whom? When? When do bad immigrants become good and vice versa, in the public eye? Shukla’s work and public will appeal to anyone interested in these issues or global politics more generally,” Rush continued.

Shukla’s novels, “Coconut Unlimited” and “Meatspace;” his novella, “The Time Machine;” as well as his short stories and essays have been featured in Best British Short Stories,Esquire,The Sunday Times, BBC Radio, Daily Mail and The New Statesman.He has been writer in residence for BBC Asian Network and Royal Festival Hall.